The state certification credentialing board in Georgia for addiction counselors is The Georgia Addictions Counselors Associations (GACA) located in Smyrna, Georgia. This board was established in 1980. The GACA issues two credentials for addiction counselors and one credential for clinical supervisors. The mission of the Georgia Addiction Counselors Association is to increase awareness of drug dependence and abuse as a major social problem in society the expand of treatment centers made it a necessity to create a system that assures citizens of Georgia that addiction counselors has met an acceptable standard of professional competency. The scope of the practice describes the professional alcohol and drug counselor’s rights and responsibilities. Alcohol and drug counselors is the process of general theories of counseling and methods of treatment use to adapt to theory and research on alcohol and drugs to treat the alcohol and drug abuse problem in society. Practices of alcohol and drug counseling knowledge consists of being aware of clinical evaluation of drug and alcohol issues, treatment planning, counseling education and prevention, documentation and professional and ethical standards.
The GACA board of directors includes GACA members who volunteer their time to carry out the mission of GACA. The board executive officers stay in office for two years.The Board of Directors consist of nine elected members from the membership these four officers are the President, the President-elect J. Scott Maddox, the Secretary and Treasurer David Burris Sr., the Immediate Past President E Wayne Bland; and, the Chair of the Certification Committee. The current president for 2012-2014 is Diane Sherman from Mariette Georgia she has a Ph.D. and i...
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...d drug abuse counselor in the past 8 years. 270 contact hours of education and training in alcoholism and drug abuse or related counseling subjects, including six hours of ethics training, 27 hours of cultural diversity training, and 3 hours of HIV/AIDS education. Minimum 160 contact hours within the past 5 years. Maximum 135 hours may come from a college transcript. 144 hours of supervision from a GACA Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS). A minimum of 36 of these hours must be one-on-one supervision, with at least 2 hours of individual supervision in each counselor skill group. Must be cleared of all pending charges concerning drug and alcohol use or abuse, or felonies and at least two years post-completion of all sentencing requirements to include probation. Request for exception or appeals for non-felony charges may be made in writing to the Certification Board.
Drug court is between one to two years in duration, depending on which county the program is located in and how willing the participant is to implement the program into their daily lives. The philosophy is, “keep individuals in treatment long enough for it to work, while supervising them closely” (nadcp.org). Participants are held accountable for every action they have, whether positive or negative. Meaning, they are “rewarded for doing well or sanctioned when they do not live up to their obligations” (nadcp.org). Sanctions can range anywhere from community service, earlier curfew restrictions, a treatment facility, and even up to a weekend or months in jail, depending on the severity of the
These programs may include detoxification of the addicted individual as well as a treatment program that lasts anywhere from 7-21 days (Hanser, 2010). The length of time of this jail diversion treatment program is often based on the cravings and inevitable withdrawal from the substance abuser’s addiction. An added mode of treatment or therapy for substance abusers is self-help groups. After release from the above programs, addicts have the opportunity (or are required) to attend 12-step programs that will aid in the recovery of substance abuse.
Fortinash, K. M., & Holoday Worret, P. A. (Eds.). (2012). Substance-related disorders and addictive behaviors. Psychiatric mental health nursing (5th ed., pp. 319-362). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Official Site in Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Ethical Challenges for counselor competency. 23. May. 2000. Online Available
A major question that has been asked ever since the creation of AA, people have questioned Bill Wilson’s theory on Alcoholism; whether it’s a disease or a spiritual problem. In addition to the question of the origins of alcoholism another question is if the “Big Book” and 12 step program about alcohol or about finding God. This paper is about Alcoholics Anonymous and how the organization treats alcoholism as a disease that it impossible to cure unless the individual finds God. I believe that AA operates in a fashion similar to that of a cult because of what the book teaches and the message that AA members are instructed to carry out.
The USTA is managed by a Board of Directors which establishes the policies and objectives of the Association. The members of the BOD consist of 5 officers, the immediate Past President and nine directors-at-large. The voting members of the USTA are the Sectional Associations and Member Organizations whose voting strength is determined by the immediately preceding December 31st membership totals.
Christine’s current position requires a bachelor’s degree in a health related field, although she noted other counselors at her place of employment have master’s degrees. She is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) in the State of New Jersey. Certification involved verifying education and experience, completing an exam, and paying a fee. Christine is also a member of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC). Membership in this organizat...
MacMaster, S. (2004). Harm reduction: a new perspective on substance abuse services. Social Work, 49(3), 356-63. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2055/docview/215270642/fulltext?accountid=7113
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2008). Foundations of addictions counseling. Boston, M.A: Pearson Education.
I have wanted to be a counselor since my freshmen year of high school and in the counseling field there are many specialties that I can focus on. I am fairly certain that I want to specialize in helping people with substance abuse and their families. I have always focused my studies, interests, and work on things that will help me in this field and I have a lot of qualities that help to enhance me in my eventual career. There are difficulties when I get to practice also like what people perceive as correct counseling style, challenges with my gender and race, and finally creating my own counseling style and plans.
To be a licensed mental health counselor a person must have a Masters Degree in counseling or other related field. The program must consist of 60 semester hours and 1000 hours of university sponsored clinical or internship experience. The degree program should be certified by CACREP. A CACREP certified program insures that the program meets examination requirements for licensure. Once completed, one must have two years of supervision and pass national or state examinations to obtain licensure.
Meyers, R. J. & Smith, J. E. (1995). Clinical guide to alcohol treatment: The community
Alcoholics Anonymous When I saw the Alcoholics Anonymous assignment on our syllabus earlier this semester I thought, "Oh my god, I have to go to some stupid AA meeting. " In the weeks prior to attending the meeting, I was very nervous about attending it because I did not know what to expect. Some of the questions going through my mind were: "Was everyone expected to talk at the meeting?" and "Was I going to be criticized as the outsider wanting to know what AA was all about?"
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Office of Applied Studies). Treatment Episode Data Set(TEDS): Highlights-2003. National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services, Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2003.
HS 43 Term Paper 4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor By Roslyn Smith Introduction This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes. Discussion Case Management According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals.